THE GAME
The Eagles of North Carolina Central University tipoff the 2011-12 campaign against in-state foe Charlotte. This will be the first official contest for NCCU as full NCAA Division I members after finishing the reclassifying process and receiving word from the NCAA and the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference that the Eagles are eligible for postseason play.

NCCU SPORTS NETWORK
Play-by-play voice of the NCCU Sports Network, Chris Hooks, and color analyst Joe Simmons will call the action live from Halton Arena beginning at 7:15 p.m. online at NCCUEaglePride.com.  Just simply go to the GameCentral Icon on the home page and enjoy the action.  You can also follow the game live on twitter by following @NCCUAthletics and putting in #NCCUChar as a hashtag.

THE SERIES
NCCU and Charlotte have never met on the hardwood. The Eagles are 2-1 against current A-10 opponents despite losing its last contest against league member Duquesne 97-79 on Dec. 22, 2008. The Eagles have previously beaten Xavier (85-68) on March 1, 1954 and Rhode Island (77-70) on Jan. 27, 1969.

CHARLOTTE "49ERS"
The Charlotte 49ers enter the 2011-12 season off the heels of a 10-20 campaign overall with 2-14 mark in Atlantic 10 Conference play. Charlotte is led by its second year head coach Alan Major who took over last season after former head coach Bobby Lutz was let go following the 2009-10 season. Last season, the Niners were an even 7-7 inside Halton Arena, but their landmark win came at Time Warner Cable Arena where they knocked off No. 7 Tennessee 49-48 on Dec. 17, 2010. Prior to coming to the Queen City, Major made his mark as an assistant under Thad Matta at Ohio State and Xavier. His coaching background includes stops at Pacific, Southern Illinois, and Cal Lutheran during his 18-plus years in the college coaching busisness. Charlotte returns its top four scorers from last season beginning with Derrio Green who led the Forty-Niners with 13.0 points a game, while dishing out 114 assists that placed him eighth in the A-10 averaging 3.8 assists during the season. Eagle fans may be familiar with the second leading scorer as Jamar Briscoe scored 12.5 points a game last season while shooting 35.4 percent from the perimeter and 79.8 percent from the free-throw line. The third leading scorer that returns for gang green is 6-9 forward Chris Braswell who averaged 11.1 points a contest including a team-high 6.9 rebounds per game during the 2010-11 season. The Niners took on Belmont-Abbey in their lone exhibition contest winning in convincing fashion 102-54. Forward Javarris Barnett led Charlotte with 24 points and six boards in the win. The Niners had six players in double figures in the contest.

UP NEXT
The Eagles will return to the Bull City to host Johnson & Wales in the home opener for LeVelle Moton’s squad at 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 13 inside the friendly confines of McDougald-McLendon Gym. NCCU beat the Charlotte based school 90-30 to open the 2010-11 season. The Eagles lead the all-time series 1-0.